Distracted driving – Cloze test

CLOZE TEST

Distracted driving is a serious and growing threat 0) __________ road safety. With 1) __________ and more people owning mobile phones, and the rapid introduction of new “invehicle” communication systems, this problem is 2) __________ to escalate globally in the coming years. However, to date there is insufficient evidence on the risks associated with different sources of distraction, and what interventions can be put into place to reduce their impact 3) __________ road traffic crashes. There are different types of driver distraction, but the use of mobile phones 4) __________ driving is of primary concern to policy-makers. Evidence suggests that this behaviour is increasing rapidly 5) __________ a result of the exponential growth in the use of mobile phones more generally in society. Not only 6) __________ mobile phone use be considered as one example of the broader problem of driver distraction, but studies from a number of countries also suggest that the proportion of drivers using mobile phones while driving has increased over the past 5–10 years. In many countries the extent of this problem remains unknown, 7) __________ data on mobile phone use is not routinely collected when a crash occurs. Only if data is collected 8) __________ we be able to know the effects of mobile phone use on drivers’ behaviour. Using mobile phones can cause drivers to take their eyes off the road, their hands off the steering wheel, and their minds off the road and the surrounding situation. It is this last type of distraction – known 9) __________ cognitive distraction – which appears to have the biggest influence on driving behaviour. Evidence shows that the distraction caused by mobile phones can impair driving performance in a number of ways, e.g. longer reaction times (notably braking reaction time, but also reaction to traffic signals), impaired ability to keep in the correct lane, and shorter following distances. Text messaging also results in considerably reduced driving performance, with young drivers 10) __________ particular risk of the effects of distraction resulting from this use.